California regulates AI chatbots, Ohio considers similar laws

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As artificial intelligence continues to grow, so do concerns around safety, particularly for minors. This week, California passed first-of-its-kind legislation in the nation to regulate AI services called chatbots, while Ohio lawmakers consider similar protections.

Megan Garcia wants parents to know about the risks of AI companion chatbots, which use human-like texts and voices and can assume a range of personality traits. She says those interactions can make it difficult for minors to distinguish between what is real and what is not.

Garcia says her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, loved to make people laugh. “He was handy with a quick joke for sure,” she said.

But in 2023, the Florida mother noticed a change. “He was more withdrawn, isolating himself in his bedroom and he wasn’t opening up. And then in February of 2024, he took his own life in our home,” Garcia said.

Garcia believes an AI chatbot was to blame. “He had been engaging with an AI chatbot over numerous months, and those conversations were both romantic and sexual,” she said. “He was in a situation where a chatbot was manipulating him.”

Garcia is suing the company behind Character.AI, alleging the company didn’t do enough to prevent Setzer from developing a relationship with a chatbot and did not adequately respond when Setzer began expressing thoughts of self-harm, according to the lawsuit.

Character.AI would not comment on the pending litigation but said they have introduced new features, “including self-harm resources and features focused on the safety of our minor users.” The company says they will work with lawmakers as they develop legislation for this emerging space and will comply with laws, including SB243. Character.AI adds that they work with external experts focused on teenage online safety.

“We need to protect our kids and our teens and our families from the excesses of this new technology,” said Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB243, led by state Sen. Steve Padilla. This legislation will require chatbot operators to implement safeguards around interactions with AI and remind users that chatbot responses are artificially generated.

“We have to rapidly rise to meet the challenge to not miss a window to provide reasonable safeguards,” Padilla said.

As of October 2025, Ohio has several artificial intelligence and chatbot-related legislative proposals pending in its General Assembly. These bills address a wide range of issues, including legal personhood for AI, protections for minors, and liability for harm caused by AI.

House Bill 469, introduced by state Rep. Thaddeus Claggett in September 2025, explicitly states that AI systems are non-sentient and cannot be granted legal personhood or rights. The bill prohibits AI systems from holding assets such as real estate, intellectual property, or financial accounts, and from serving in official corporate roles. It clarifies that human owners or developers of an AI system are responsible for any harm caused by its use or output. The bill has been referred to the House Technology and Innovation Committee.

House Bill 524, introduced October 15, 2025, would impose penalties on AI developers and deployers if their models or applications encourage self-harm or violence against others.

Senator Jon Husted introduced the Children Harmed by AI Technology (CHAT) Act in September 2025. This bill would require chatbot operators to implement age verification systems and obtain parental consent for minors to access companion chatbot services. It mandates blocking minors’ access to sexually explicit chatbot content and requires chatbots to notify parents and display crisis hotlines if conversations with minors involve self-harm or suicidal ideation. The bill is pending in the Ohio Senate.

Ohio has already passed one AI-related law. House Bill 96, passed in August 2025, requires the state’s Department of Education and Workforce to develop a model AI policy for schools by December 31, 2025. All Ohio school districts must then adopt their own AI use policy by July 1, 2026.